Why isn't anything being done about the dark and dirty tunnels in Boston?
BOSTON - Jane Castiglioni is a sweet, soft-spoken woman who had been stewing for a while and decided to reach out to WBZ for our Question Everything segment.
"I didn't know who to complain to. So, I complained to you because I didn't know who else to go to," she said.
Jane had a question about the O'Neill Tunnel that runs through Downtown Boston. She travels from Quincy through Boston at least four times a week.
"I travel the O'Neil Tunnel for the past 10 years, at least four days a week and I've noticed it's gotten dirtier and dirtier, and it's got darker and darker in there," Jane said.
If you use the tunnels downtown, you've probably noticed. I had noticed it for several months. The tiles are often caked in dirt. It makes the tunnels dark and dingy. Even MassDOT says it's important to keep them clean so the lights can illuminate the white tile. The Ted Williams Tunnel often has really dirty walls as well.
I asked Jane to paint me a picture of the tunnel walls. "Dark, dark, dark, dark gray," she described.
So, it doesn't look great, but does it really matter if the walls are dirty? Well, one thing you'll notice is in the spots where the walls are clean, the light really reflects off the walls making it much easier to see.
Jane didn't believe MassDOT ever cleans the walls. But when I asked, MassDOT told me they do and supplied a picture of the machines that do the work. When I explained the story about Jane's complaint, they told me they couldn't do interviews and the tunnel washing was "specifically scheduled around an ongoing lighting project."
The next day, we noticed the walls suddenly looked pretty good. Terry, our videographer, thought something was off. Had the cleaners come by?
"I think you can see where they cleaned it," Terry said.
A short time later, we got an email with a seven second video clip. The cleaning trucks went out during the overnight hours before our shoot.
I was assured it was a "coincidence."
The tunnels are cleaner for now. Many frequent drivers, like Jane, believes a cleaner tunnel is a safer tunnel.
"I think if you had bright walls and the people had their lights on, there would be less accidents because people could see where they are going," she said.
If you have a question you'd like us to look into, please email questioneverything@cbsboston.com.